Mad Minute stories from Tuesday, May 15th

BERLIN (AP) — Police were called to investigate a domestic disturbance in a southern German town — and found a man arguing with a parrot.A resident in Loerrach, near the Swiss border, called the emergency number Monday to report his concerns about loud shouting from a next-door apartment that had been going on for some time.Police said Tuesday that officers sent to the scene found there was a loud argument going on — but it was between a 22-year-old man and a parrot. The man told them he had been annoyed with the bird, which belonged to his girlfriend.The parrot responded to being shouted at with loud noises of its own. Police said it couldn’t speak but could bark like a dog.Since no one was hurt, the officers left.

SALINE, Mich. (AP) — A Michigan engineering company employee has been fired after police determined she baked laxatives into brownies intended for a departing colleague's send-off.Saline police Chief Jerrod Hart says officers confiscated the tainted confections May 3 after another employee tipped off management. No one ate the brownies.The Ann Arbor News reports that Hart says the 47-year-old woman initially denied putting laxatives in the brownies, but after learning investigators would test them she admitted she had. Her name hasn't been released.Other employees told police there may have been tension between the woman and the departing employee, but specifics haven't been released.Hart says the woman faces no charges, but if anyone had eaten the brownies it could have been considered a criminal act.

SEATTLE (AP) — A retired Alaska state lawmaker says a naked passenger was tackled and detained on an Alaska Airlines flight from Seattle to Anchorage, Alaska.Former state Sen. Johnny Ellis said on Twitter that the incident happened Monday after the man ran from the front of the plane to the back, yelling and waving.Alaska Airlines spokeswoman Bobbie Egan said in a statement Monday night that Alaska Airlines flight 107 from Seattle landed without incident in Anchorage.Egan says shortly before the descent into Anchorage a disruptive male passenger was detained. She says he was removed by law enforcement after the plane parked at the gate and was then transported to a local hospital.She didn't say whether the man was clothed or what led to the incident.

LYONS, N.Y. (AP) — A fugitive who's wanted in North Carolina accidentally dialed 911 while he was in upstate New York, and he's now behind bars.WHEC-TV in Rochester reports that deputies from the Wayne County Sheriff's office arrested 53-year-old Jesse Graham on Friday night in Lyons, a town east of Rochester.Graham reportedly is wanted in Mooresville, North Carolina, on several unspecified charges.He's being held in the Wayne County Jail awaiting to be transferred to North Carolina.

A man in California was caught on camera busting a move before he got busted by police for allegedly stealing a laptop last week.The suspect, identified by police as David Seale, reportedly used a key to unlock an office suite on Tuesday and was caught on surveillance video breakdancing after he initially broke into the building.Shortly after the theft, Seale, 43, was found nearby with the stolen laptop, the Fresno Police Department wrote on Facebook. Once he was arrested, police said Seale gave a fake name, and he had "several warrants for his arrest," which included a probation warrant.He was booked at the Fresno County Jail on suspicion of possession of stolen property and providing false information, police said.Investigators then watched three days of surveillance footage, which showed Seale "entered the building and the victim's office suite numerous times over the weekend." The keys he used to access the building were copies, and police said it was unclear where Seale got the original keys to make the copies.Seale was then charged with commercial burglary. County records indicate he was being held without bail for alleged probation violation.

The former manager of a California Chipotle Mexican Grill who was accused of stealing more than $600 was awarded nearly $8 million for wrongful termination Thursday.Jeanette Ortiz was accused in 2015 of stealing $626 in cash from a safe at the Fresno restaurant. Ortiz's bosses claimed the theft was caught on camera, but she was never shown the video because her bosses told her the evidence had been destroyed.Ortiz filed a wrongful termination suit after she was let go. A California jury ordered the restaurant to pay Ortiz $7.97 million in damages, according to the Fresno Bee.The jury ruled Ortiz was a victim of a scheme to defame her for filing a worker's compensation claim for a job-related wrist injury caused by carpal tunnel syndrome, the newspaper reported.The jury deliberated for about four hours before a verdict was reached. Jurors awarded Ortiz $6 million for emotional distress and $1.97 million for loss of wages, according to the Bee.A Chipotle spokeswoman declined to comment on the panel's decision.

(Huffington Post) Oh, deer.A Minnesota man looking for mushrooms ended up discovering something incredible: conjoined fawns.The man found the stillborn fawns in May 2016 near Freeburg, Minnesota, about a mile from the Mississippi River.The animals appeared to be recently deceased and were clean and dry, according to Gino D'Angelo, a University of Georgia researcher who studied the deer.He said he believes the two-headed animal is the first pair of conjoined fawns reach full term and then be delivered by their mother, according to a University of Georgia press release.Since the only other examples of conjoined fawns have been found in utero, these stillborn twins are a scientific marvel."It's amazing and extremely rare," D'Angelo said in the release. "We can't even estimate the rarity of this. Of the tens of millions of fawns born annually in the U.S., there are probably abnormalities happening in the wild we don't even know about."When researchers at the University of Minnesota's veterinary diagnostic laboratory conducted a necropsy and MRI and CT scans of the body, they discovered the female fawns had one body but two separate necks and two heads.When the animals' lungs were placed in water, they sank straight to the bottom ? confirming that the fawns never breathed air and were stillborn. Other anatomical abnormalities include two separate gastrointestinal tracts (but only one connected all the way to the anus), two hearts and extra spleens but only one liver, which was malformed, according to ScienceAlert.com."Their anatomy indicates the fawns would never have been viable," D'Angelo said in the release. "Yet, they were found groomed and in a natural position, suggesting that the doe tried to care for them after delivery. The maternal instinct is very strong."D'Angelo co-authored a study describing the find in The American Midland Naturalist.Taxidermists have mounted the conjoined fawns on a bed of greenery and made them look as if they are waking from a nap.That mount will be put on display at the offices for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, and a skeletal recreation will be displayed at the University of Minnesota Veterinary Anatomy Museum in Minneapolis, according to local station KMSP TV.

May 15 (UPI) -- Police in South Carolina responded to a report of a loose animal in a road and arrived to find a surprising sight -- a kangaroo hopping through the street.The McCormick County Sheriff's Office K9 Unit posted a photo to Facebook showing the kangaroo standing in front of a shocked deputy's patrol car early Tuesday morning."When you get dispatched to an animal in the road and this is what you find," the deputy wrote. "I thought dispatch was joking."The sheriff's office said they determined a man living nearby was licensed to keep kangaroos and they confirmed his pet had escaped. The marsupial was returned to its owner's home in the late morning.

May 15 (UPI) -- A Pennsylvania high school senior was the talk of the school when her surprise prom date turned out to be Danny DeVito -- or, at least, a close facsimile.Allison Closs made waves at the Carlisle High School prom and online when she arrived for the dance with a cardboard cutout of the film star and director.Footage from the dance Friday at Letort View Community Center shows Closs pulling her date around with the use of a small scooter.Closs said she bought the cutout and scooter online to surprise and amuse her classmates.

May 15 (UPI) -- A Chinese family said they had to give up the "puppy" they adopted two years ago when it turned out to be an Asiatic black bear.Su Yun, who lives in a village near Kunming, Yunnan province, said her family bought what they thought was a Tibetan mastiff puppy in 2016 and were quickly surprised at how much the apparent canine ate -- a box of fruit and two buckets of noodles per day.Yun said her family became suspicious when their pet didn't stop growing and they realized it might not be a dog at all when the 250-pound animal started walking on its hind legs.The family contacted Yunnan Wildlife Rescue Center, which confirmed their suspicions that the "puppy" was an Asiatic black bear.The bear is now in the care of the wildlife center.A Yongsheng county, Yunnan province, man revealed he made a similar mistake earlier this year when he surrendered a 176-pound bear that he adopted as a cub when he found what he has mistakenly identified as a puppy while mushroom foraging in 2015.

SPOKANE, Wash. - Crime is becoming a growing concern in parts of downtown Spokane-- and police are getting all to familiar with it. The worse it gets, the fewer people want to spend time there-- which only creates a vicious cycle. Tonight while while we were in the downtown neighborhood, we saw firsthand what businesses and police are worried about and say they see every day. "I think most areas are overall safe," Officer John O'Brien

SPOKANE, Wash. - Crime is becoming a growing concern in parts of downtown Spokane-- and police are getting all to familiar with it. The worse it gets, the fewer people want to spend time there-- which only creates a vicious cycle. Tonight while while we were in the downtown neighborhood, we saw firsthand what businesses and police are worried about and say they see every day. "I think most areas are overall safe," Officer John O'Brien

OTIS ORCHARDS, Wash. - A woman was killed in a crash in the Otis Orchards area Thursday morning. The crash happened near the intersection of Wellesley and Ashton. Details are limited at this time, but the car was found behind a tree and the woman driving has died, according to deputies on scene. The intersection is closed down and motorists are asked to avoid the area.

OTIS ORCHARDS, Wash. - A woman was killed in a crash in the Otis Orchards area Thursday morning. The crash happened near the intersection of Wellesley and Ashton. Details are limited at this time, but the car was found behind a tree and the woman driving has died, according to deputies on scene. The intersection is closed down and motorists are asked to avoid the area.

SPOKANE VALLEY, Wash. - The Washington State Patrol says a 46-year-old Reardan man was killed Tuesday afternoon after crashing his motorcycle on I-90. Troopers say Clinton Heindl was traveling west on the Sprague onramp when he struck the barrier, was thrown from his bike and into the westbound lanes of I-90.

SPOKANE VALLEY, Wash. - The Washington State Patrol says a 46-year-old Reardan man was killed Tuesday afternoon after crashing his motorcycle on I-90. Troopers say Clinton Heindl was traveling west on the Sprague onramp when he struck the barrier, was thrown from his bike and into the westbound lanes of I-90.

SEATTLE, Wash. (AP) - A case of Legionnaires' disease has been suspected at the University of Washington Medical Center. KOMO-TV reported Wednesday that this is the third time in as many years that the disease has been suspected at the facility. Officials said the patient "has been diagnosed with a highly probable health care associated Legionella pneumonia." Officials said the patient is in satisfactory condition and is responding well to treatment. ...

SEATTLE, Wash. (AP) - A case of Legionnaires' disease has been suspected at the University of Washington Medical Center. KOMO-TV reported Wednesday that this is the third time in as many years that the disease has been suspected at the facility. Officials said the patient "has been diagnosed with a highly probable health care associated Legionella pneumonia." Officials said the patient is in satisfactory condition and is responding well to treatment. ...

SPOKANE, Wash. - A Mead High School teacher has been arrested and charged with having a sexual relationship with a student. Last month, court records showed 37-year-old Mead High School teacher Wesley Perez was under investigation for having an inappropriate relationship with a student.

SPOKANE, Wash. - A Mead High School teacher has been arrested and charged with having a sexual relationship with a student. Last month, court records showed 37-year-old Mead High School teacher Wesley Perez was under investigation for having an inappropriate relationship with a student.

SEATTLE, Wash. (AP) - Celebrity crab-boat captain Sig Hansen has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge that he spat on an Uber driver last year in Seattle. The Seattle Times reports the 52-year-old "Deadliest Catch" star pleaded guilty Wednesday. Under the plea deal, a property destruction charge was dismissed. Prosecutors also recommended the assault conviction be dropped and the case dismissed if Hansen complies with court conditions for a yea...

SEATTLE, Wash. (AP) - Celebrity crab-boat captain Sig Hansen has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge that he spat on an Uber driver last year in Seattle. The Seattle Times reports the 52-year-old "Deadliest Catch" star pleaded guilty Wednesday. Under the plea deal, a property destruction charge was dismissed. Prosecutors also recommended the assault conviction be dropped and the case dismissed if Hansen complies with court conditions for a yea...

KHQ.COM - Thousands of Irish citizens currently living out of the country are traveling home to Ireland to vote on repealing a longstanding law that outlaws abortions. The polls will open on May 25th to vote to repeal the eighth amendment, which currently gives equal rights to the life of an unborn child. Just landed in from Newcastle NSW via Sydney and Abu Dhabi. I’ll see yez at the polls.

KHQ.COM - Thousands of Irish citizens currently living out of the country are traveling home to Ireland to vote on repealing a longstanding law that outlaws abortions. The polls will open on May 25th to vote to repeal the eighth amendment, which currently gives equal rights to the life of an unborn child. Just landed in from Newcastle NSW via Sydney and Abu Dhabi. I’ll see yez at the polls.

NEW YORK (AP) - A media watchdog group is calling on Netflix to pull its "13 Reasons Why" series because of potentially harmful content. The Parents Television Council describes the second season of the series as "a ticking time bomb to teens and children." It wants both seasons yanked. A request for comment from Netflix wasn't immediately returned Monday.

NEW YORK (AP) - A media watchdog group is calling on Netflix to pull its "13 Reasons Why" series because of potentially harmful content. The Parents Television Council describes the second season of the series as "a ticking time bomb to teens and children." It wants both seasons yanked. A request for comment from Netflix wasn't immediately returned Monday.

PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) - A Kosovo court has imprisoned two ethnic Albanians in an organ harvesting case. The Pristina court on Thursday sentenced former urologist Lutfi Dervishi to seven-and-a-half years and a fine of 8,000 euros ($9,400). He cannot exercise his profession for two years after his prison term ends. Another person, Sokol Hajdini, was sentenced to one year in prison.

PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) - A Kosovo court has imprisoned two ethnic Albanians in an organ harvesting case. The Pristina court on Thursday sentenced former urologist Lutfi Dervishi to seven-and-a-half years and a fine of 8,000 euros ($9,400). He cannot exercise his profession for two years after his prison term ends. Another person, Sokol Hajdini, was sentenced to one year in prison.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Authorities say a recently adopted 1-year-old girl whose father left her in a truck has died. News outlets cite a release from Metro Nashville police saying the adoptive father "reportedly forgot" about the child after dropping off her sibling at day care on Wednesday. The girl's adoptive mother found the child around 5:40 p.m. in a car seat inside the pickup truck parked outside their home.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Authorities say a recently adopted 1-year-old girl whose father left her in a truck has died. News outlets cite a release from Metro Nashville police saying the adoptive father "reportedly forgot" about the child after dropping off her sibling at day care on Wednesday. The girl's adoptive mother found the child around 5:40 p.m. in a car seat inside the pickup truck parked outside their home.

KHQ.COM - A Facebook post from a teacher in Georgia has gone viral with more than 174,000 shares and she highlights one of the biggest changes she's noticed in her 15 years of teaching that could also be a contributing factor to gun violence in our schools. Amie Diprima Brown believes more and more parents are checking out from their child's academic process and she has a stack of letters to prove it.

KHQ.COM - A Facebook post from a teacher in Georgia has gone viral with more than 174,000 shares and she highlights one of the biggest changes she's noticed in her 15 years of teaching that could also be a contributing factor to gun violence in our schools. Amie Diprima Brown believes more and more parents are checking out from their child's academic process and she has a stack of letters to prove it.

OTIS ORCHARDS, Wash. - A woman was killed in a crash in the Otis Orchards area Thursday morning. The crash happened near the intersection of Wellesley and Ashton. Details are limited at this time, but the car was found behind a tree and the woman driving has died, according to deputies on scene. The intersection is closed down and motorists are asked to avoid the area.

OTIS ORCHARDS, Wash. - A woman was killed in a crash in the Otis Orchards area Thursday morning. The crash happened near the intersection of Wellesley and Ashton. Details are limited at this time, but the car was found behind a tree and the woman driving has died, according to deputies on scene. The intersection is closed down and motorists are asked to avoid the area.

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Donald Trump is canceling the planned June 12 summit with North Korea's Kim Jong Un, citing the "tremendous anger and open hostility" in a recent statement from North Korea. Trump says in a letter to Kim released Thursday by the White House that based on the statement, he felt it was "inappropriate, at this time, to have this long-planned meeting."

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Donald Trump is canceling the planned June 12 summit with North Korea's Kim Jong Un, citing the "tremendous anger and open hostility" in a recent statement from North Korea. Trump says in a letter to Kim released Thursday by the White House that based on the statement, he felt it was "inappropriate, at this time, to have this long-planned meeting."

WASHINGTON (AP) - One airman said he felt paranoia. Another marveled at the vibrant colors. A third admitted, "I absolutely just loved altering my mind." Meet service members entrusted with guarding nuclear missiles that are among the most powerful in America's arsenal. Air Force records obtained by The Associated Press show they bought, distributed and used the hallucinogen LSD and other mind-altering illegal drugs while off duty.

WASHINGTON (AP) - One airman said he felt paranoia. Another marveled at the vibrant colors. A third admitted, "I absolutely just loved altering my mind." Meet service members entrusted with guarding nuclear missiles that are among the most powerful in America's arsenal. Air Force records obtained by The Associated Press show they bought, distributed and used the hallucinogen LSD and other mind-altering illegal drugs while off duty.

EUNICE, La. - A Louisiana woman is accused of faking injuries, possibly to seek money, after claiming she bit into a razor blade in a restaurant sandwich. KATC-TV reports that 29-year-old Correill Bradley of Eunice was arrested May 18 on charges of criminal mischief and theft. Eunice police were called to the hospital May 15 after Bradley claimed she found the blade.

EUNICE, La. - A Louisiana woman is accused of faking injuries, possibly to seek money, after claiming she bit into a razor blade in a restaurant sandwich. KATC-TV reports that 29-year-old Correill Bradley of Eunice was arrested May 18 on charges of criminal mischief and theft. Eunice police were called to the hospital May 15 after Bradley claimed she found the blade.

WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump says the NFL is "doing the right thing" with a policy banning kneeling during the national anthem. Trump spoke to "Fox & Friends" in an interview airing Thursday. The policy forbids players from sitting or taking a knee on the field during the anthem but allows them to stay in the locker room. Any violations of the new rules would result in fines against teams.

WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump says the NFL is "doing the right thing" with a policy banning kneeling during the national anthem. Trump spoke to "Fox & Friends" in an interview airing Thursday. The policy forbids players from sitting or taking a knee on the field during the anthem but allows them to stay in the locker room. Any violations of the new rules would result in fines against teams.